Race Report: 2009 Downtown Runaround 5 Mile

What you can't tell by this post-race pic is that my clothes are, literally,
completely soaking wet with sweat. I love humidity!

This was a race I not only hadn't planned on running, but didn't even know existed. It was happy coincidence that we were visiting the in-laws for a family reunion in Columbus, NE the weekend of the race. Upon arriving, my father-in-law excitedly asked my husband and I if we wanted to sign up, as that was the last day to do so. I am always up for a race, and somehow managed to talk my race-averse spouse into joining me...clickety-click and a credit card number later, we were all set to run the 5 mile race.

The course for this annual race traditionally starts and finishes in downtown Columbus, NE, and makes a trip over the only hill in town, the Viaduct bridge over the train tracks, along the way. However, the Viaduct has been shut for repair for about a year, so they had to alter the course for 2009. The result? A fabulous, flat, tree-lined and shady route around Pawnee Park and Wagner/Spires Lakes. Oh yes, this race had all the makings of a faster race pace for me: flat? Check. Shady? Check. Elevation below 5,000 feet? Checkedy-check.

Though well organized (Our race numbers were folded, 4 safety pins handily included, a sheet of race-day instructions, and a coupon for a free Big Mac placed inside of individually-marked envelopes at packet pickup. How considerate! Although the inclusion of the Big Mac belies the relative unimportance of healthy living in this community...) the race was a little more throwback old school and casual than what I'm used to in Colorado. There were no timing chips, it wasn't an officially measured course, the route was loosely monitored by volunteers, and I have yet to find the full results posted anywhere....but, it all went off without a hitch.

That's me over on the left side, midway back, in the hot pink.
I always wanted to be famous.

I started out at a pretty good pace (8:09) and was FINALLY able to maintain it consistenly all the way through the race (8:20, 8:23, 8:25, 7:54, :20). I just kept telling myself it was a tempo run and therefore I was not allowed to slow down, I had to stay consistent. The utter flatness allowed this to actually happen. While I did miss the requisite uphill-downhill I am used to at the CO races, it was fun to continually pass a lot of people on the 1-3 miles. Mile 3 I was pretty much running by myself and then started to catch some of the people in the next wave in front of me and pass again during Mile 4. There was one guy I had seen way up ahead the whole race (he was wearing a red shirt, as was my hubby, so I initially thought it was him--he naturally took off and left me from the start--and was trying to see if I could catch up) and I was finally closing in on him. I kicked out the last mile strong and sprinted the last .5...and he was toast. But, alas, I never did catch that shirtless guy.

Passing people is fun. Especially because I so rarely get to do it.

American Tights, you're history. Red Guy, I'm coming for you.

Hey, I warned you Red Guy. (he's there, behind me, in the background)

The official finish.

Final clock time: 41.42 PR yay!
Final garmin time: 41:38
"Official" race distance: 5.0 miles
garmin race distance: 5.1 miles

No idea how many finishers or where I placed--there was a 2-mile and 5-mile race and total count was 939 for both races--will update if they ever post it. One thing worth noting is that the winner of the 5-mile race finished it in just over 25 minutes. Which, sadly, is still faster than my fastest-ever 5k race time.

Downtown Runaround Quickie

Full race report coming, but for now: great race, nice and flat, 5mi PR 41:38. This being Columbus, NE, the race was full-on Old Skool with no timing chips...so obviously the race results are not posted, so don't know exactly how I did in the field of about 900. Stay tuned folks.

Race Report: HRCA Independence Day 5K 2009

I haven't done a 5K since March, and I have been running well and training a lot since then, so I was really interested to see how I would do this time. In true Highlands Ranch fashion, the race course was pretty hilly. HOWEVER, since I have made it my mission to conquer these bitch hills in my hood, it was noticably easier this time around. My legs definitely felt stronger, as did my lungs. And of course, there was the fact that it was only 3 little baby miles, so you know, CAKE.

It was a clear, warm, sunny morning for the 8:30 start. After all the pre-6AM running I have been doing, 8:30 felt like such a luxury. A hot, sunny luxury, that is. But, I had fueled up with my trusty cinnamon raisin bread, took at Gu just to see if it would make any difference on a short run, and hit the porta-pots before we took off. I ran into a couple of my running buddies at the start line, so that was nice.

I had set the simple race goal of beating my last 5K time. HOWEVER, I had also furiously scanned last year's race results to see how fast the finshers were, particularly in my age division. I deduced that my secondary/secret goal was to try and hit 25:00 or an 8:30 pace. I knew it was probably do-able, but it would be a little new for me to, you know, actually run hard and race during a race. I seem to tend to lay-up and not run races as hard as I could, probably due to some obscure fear of not finishing at all, lest I get too tired or something. (which is ridiculous, because of course I would still finish, even if I had to walk the dang course...on second thought, it's probably more of a deep-seated fear that I will run so hard and fast that I will want to puke and then I will actually puke and all those other runners will think, "wow how disgusting, doesn't she know you have to TRAIN to race, you can't just meander off your couch or out of frickin yoga class and think you can be a runner, by god, what a disgrace...) Anyway, I felt that I would actually run this one hard, and actually get myself out of breath and be hands-on-knees panting by the end. Or something reasonably close to that, but maybe a little, you know, easier...like an 8:30 pace.

Lest you all be bored and stop reading before you get to the Grand Finale*, I will say that I came respectably close to my super-secret 25:00 goal with a respectable 26:29. A nice 1:20 faster than my last 5K time.

RACE STATS
26:29 (PR)
9 in my age division (woo hoo, I cracked the top 10!)
24 female (top 25!)
118 overall finisher out of 411 (not top quarter...but really close...and I chicked at guy at the uphill finish, so totally strong showing)


*While yes, it would appear that with a 26:29 time, my pace was a close-to-goal 8:33...I am sad to say it actually was not. My splits?
Mile 1-7:31 (woo-hoo!)
Mile 2-8:20 (ew, that hill hurt a little)
Mile 3-9:52 (oh shit, I'm feeling that 7:31 now...I better just, you know, walk that 20 yards up that big hill right there...uh oh, that's another hill just after the downhill, isn't it? and crap, the last half mile to the finish is all back uphill again isn't it? I better just slow down a tad now, so that I can make sure and run that last bit to the finish where all the many, many people are LINED UP to watch the parade that's starting at 9:00; thank God I'll at least be done before that thing starts...right? yes, right I will be, crap it's hot out here...would it be weird if I just took my shirt off now? ok so just run and get done and get your water, fool)

The good news is that the 7:31 and 8:20 miles didn't really hurt that much while I was doing them...and on a little flatter course, I think I could definitely sustain that faster pace. Must. Find. Flat. Course. Also, I don't have criticism on the shirt design this time...but only because they ran out and I didn't get mine yet. I'll be sure to post when I get it, though, if it's as expectedly hideous as the others.